Police performance indicators to be reformed

The way Scottish police forces measure their performance is to be reformed to ensure it is clearer, more consistent and provides better information to the public about how local services are being delivered.

Speaking ahead of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents` annual conference, Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson confirmed that work is now underway with the police service and key stakeholders to ensure that by next spring police force performance is measured and reported against a single set of indicators, reflecting local, national and ACPOS priorities.

Under the current system, forces have to report against up to four overlapping but different sets of indicators because ACPOS, Audit Scotland, Her Majesty`s Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Executive are all involved in monitoring police performance. That often means completing multiple returns containing similar information. The reforms will aim to streamline this, ensure the performance indicators cover the full range of police activities and improve accountability at all levels.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said: “Scotland can be rightly proud of its police service. We have a record number of officers, supported by record resources, working hard to make our communities a safer place to live and work. And through the police bill, currently going through the Scottish Parliament, we are providing our forces with better tools to support the challenges of policing in the 21st century, such as knife crime and football related sectarianism and disorder.

“However, as we strive to further improve the service to the public, we must also look at how best we measure and report performance across forces to support better public accountability.

“We want to reform the performance measurement system – not to provide more management information or set targets for the sake of it – but to avoid the current duplication of effort. And ensure we have a more consistent approach to measuring, reporting and managing police performance on what really matters to forces and local communities. One which educates the public and stakeholders about how the service responds to the scale and diversity of the demands placed upon it, and uses performance information to support learning and the sharing of best practice.”